


A Better Day

by lovleydarkwolf



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Abuse, F/M, Female Protagonist, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Other, Physical Abuse, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-23 00:34:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20883233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovleydarkwolf/pseuds/lovleydarkwolf
Summary: Tsuna, a girl who was abused as a young child. What she endured- would leave no one completely sane. And she's not. Fem!Tsuna Warning: Heavy abuse! May be triggering!





	1. Chapter 1

Four year old Tsuna ran into her room slamming the door. She slid down to the floor with tears in her eyes. She slammed her hands to her ears to try and block out the screaming down stairs.

Papa had started hitting mama again.

She had tried to help mama, but papa had smacked her away. Mama had scoffed at him and yelled at him again. He quickly turned on mama. Tsuna had run up the stairs to get to her room before he noticed.

She didn't know why papa did these things. Why papa hit mama and her. She didn't know why mama got mad at her either. She loved her mama and papa. So why did they hurt her?

Tsuna let her hands sink from her ears and instead buried her face in them. Her face hurt where he had smacked her.

She walked over to climb into her bed. She covered herself up and rubbed her cheek. She sniffled as she started to fall asleep to the yelling down stairs.

Tomorrow would be better.

–

Six year old Tsuna walked past her papa quietly, trying not to wake him up. He had passed out on the couch with a bottle in his hand. He was still in is police uniform so she figured he just got off work. She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. She was hungry, but didn't want to risk making to much noise. She went to exit the kitchen but the glass slipped from her hand and the glass shattered on the floor.

She heard cursing as she stood in shock. She started tearing up as she heard him stomping into the kitchen. He stopped in front of her and started screaming at her for the mess she made.

"You piece of shit! Look at what you did! I paid for that, and you ungrateful bitch just has to go and break it!" He slapped her and she fell to the floor. She yelped in pain as pieces of glass entered the palms of her hand.

"Papa, I'm sorry I didn't mean too. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She whimpered as he pressed his steel-toe boot on top of her hand causing the glass to go deeper. He sneered at her and lifted his boot from her and only to kick her in the side.

"Pick up the mess. Your just like your mother, you stupid ungrateful brat." She felt a small scream slip through her lips as he kicked her again before leaving the room. Tsuna lifted her hands and started pulling out pieces of glass. She stood and grabbed the broom and mop to clean up the glass, blood, and water that covered the floor.

When she entered her room she lifted her shirt and moaned at the movement. Her whole side was bruised. She went to her bathroom and tried to bandage her hands. There where still a few small pieces of glass she had to dig out before she could wrap them.

After that, she climbed in bed and had to sleep on the non-bruised side. She closed her teary eyes and fell asleep.

Tomorrow would be better.

–

Eight year old Tsuna had walked in on her mama. Mama had a cigarette in her mouth and had a bunch of powder on the table and was moving into a straight line. "Mama, whats that?" She pointed toward the powder. Her mother turned and scowled at her daughter.

"None of your business. Now get." She shooed her off and flicked her ashes. Tsuna stayed where she was as she watched her mother get a straw. She wondered what her mama was doing. "Are you going to suck up powder mama? Is it a powdered liquid? That so cool!"

Her mother glanced at her and got a sly grin on her face. "Wanna try something Tsuna? Come 'ere." She grabbed Tuna's shoulder in a bruising grip. Tsuna winced as she was roughly put in the chair her mother was in.

"Now grab that straw and instead of sucking it up, your going to breath it in through your nose. Here." She separated a small but of powder and made it into a smaller line. She took another straw from the table. Okay so put in up to your nose and watch mommy." She inhaled through her nose.

Tsuna watched excitedly. Her mother had never shown her anything before. She was so happy her mother was paying attention to her! After her mother finished she watched concerned as her mother coughed and started sniffing repeatedly. Her mother then turned to her and in a rough voice said, "Okay your turn." Tsuna did what her mother did before. It burned, but she didn't was to disappoint her mother, so she continued. When finished she fell out of her chair hacking.

Her mother smiled and took a puff of her cigarette. She looked amused. "Good girl. Now get the hell out of here" She grabbed her daughter by her shirt and dragged her away. Tsuna whimpered as her back hit the floor. She landed on her bruises.

She then looked up at her mother and smiled slightly. "Thank you mama! Love you." She giggled and curled up on her side on the floor. Her mother scoffed and kicked her slightly. "Shut up."

She then leaned down and cupped her daughters face, bringing it up. She looked into her daughters brown eyes. "I will never love you. I never even wanted you." Tsuna smiled at her mother with a few tears running down her face. "I know mama. I know." Her mama looked satisfied and let her child's head fall back to the ground.

Tsuna giggled as her mother walked away. The shadows in the room where moving. They seemed to come at her. She stared at the shadowed claws wondering if they would beat her too. "Brat, what the hell are you doing? Get out of my way and go up to your fucking room." A big shadow preached her and she felt a sharp pain in her side. She curled up into a tight ball on the floor.

She then felt her hair being pulled and sharp pains along her back. She thinks the shadow was dragging her up the stairs. She groaned at the pain. She was thrown into her room.

Her father scowled at her. She looked high. Did that bitch give her his shit? He thundered down the stairs screaming.

Tsuna stayed in her position on the floor listening to screaming down stairs. She let tears fall down her faces she closed her eyes.

Tomorrow would be better….right?

Papa was in a bad mood.

He grabbed ten year old Tsuna's hair and threw her across the room. Her mother just sneered at the sight and left the room.

"Stupid ungrateful pig. You didn't even wash your plate. I shouldn't even feed that stupid mouth of yours. Both you and your mother cost me money. I don't know why I don't just get rid of both of you."

Tsuna whimpered and sat up from the floor.

He grinned at her. "You know what? Why should I feed you? Waste of space." He walked over and grabbed her by the hair and dragged her across the floor. He walked over to a door and opened it after undoing the lock. He looked down the stairs into the basement. He flicked on the light and dragged her down the stairs behind him. She screamed and tried to get away.

He threw her down the last few steps. "This is your new room. You annoy me, plus I hate looking at that ugly face." She Stood up slowly with a fear stricken face. She was scared of the dark. He smirked at her face and started back up the stairs. She started to run up the stairs, but he was already out the door and he had the door locked. She screamed and beat on the door.

"Papa please! Papa, I'll be good! I promise! I'm sorry I eat to much, I'm sorry I take up to much space, I'm sorry I'm a no good piece of trash! Papa please open the door! Papa! Papa! PAPA! PLEASE PAPA, PLEASE! I'LL BE A GOOD GIRL! PAPA!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as the lights turned off. She realized the light switch was on the outside of the door.

She felt herself slid down to the top step. She shut her eyes when she started seeing scary things in the dark. Forcing her back against the door she started humming."

Tomorrow might be better….

–

Tsuna felt a something bite her leg. She swatted at hit weakly. She couldn't see it, but she figured it was another rat. There where a lot down here. Bugs too. She had eaten a couple bugs that where crawling in her skin. She was starving. She lifted her hand to her side. If she wanted, she could count the number of ribs on her side. Tsuna winced as the lights suddenly turned on, causing he bugs and mice around her to scatter. She had grown used to the pitch black darkness.

Papa was fixing to come in. She learned that he always turned on the lights before he opened the door. She squinted at the dim light. She wondered how long she's been in here. It feel's like forever.

Papa came stomping down the steps. He carried a couple bottles of water and a sandwich down the steps. At the last step he threw the sandwich down on the floor along with the bottles of water. Tsuna scrambled over to the food.

He sneered and watched as his daughter stuffed her face like a disgusting pig. "Your just like a wild animal." She looked up with scared eyes as she shrunk away from the food and him. She was covered in filth and dirt. She was practically skin and bones.

"You know. It's been two years since you where first put here," Her eyes widen. That long? She wiped her nose with her hand. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "To tell you the truth I almost forgot about you down here. Last time I came in was a couple weeks ago. Good thing you had two water bottles. Or not. After all, it would have been better if you went without. Other people need that stuff. Not disgusting pigs like you."

She looked away from him. "I'm sorry papa." It came out rough and cracked. She used to sing in here, but it had started to hurt her throat. He sneered and started to approach her. "Your voice pisses me off." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pocket knife.

She felt her eyes widen. He had only used a knife on her a few times. She still had scars from those times. She hated the knife. She backed up against the wall.

He Grabbed her neck and forced her face-down on the nasty floor. He lifted the back of her torn up shirt and sneered. Taking the knife he started to cut away at her back. She screamed and wiggled while trying to get away. He ignored her and started carving words into her back.

Ungrateful

worthless

waste of space

stupid

failure

unwanted

dumb

hated

piece of shit

He spent hours carving hateful words into her skin. Blood was everywhere. It was a miracle she hadn't died of blood loss. Instead she passed out from pain as he carved even as she lie asleep.

He had obviously planned this, because he took out a bunch of bandages from his pocket and wrapped the wounds. He wanted them to scar.

He left the room whistling.

A little while later Tsuna blearily opened her eyes, She couldn't move an inch. It hurt. She felt light headed even though she was laying down. She felt the bandages hug her small frame. She let out a weak laugh. It hurt. "Why papa? Why…." She cried no tears. They seemed to have all dried up.

Tomorrow wouldn't be better. It would never be.

–

'Whats wrong with you?'

Tsuna had started hearing little voices. They where almost always talking. They could be whispering across the room and then suddenly right it her ear. It gave her headaches. She had started talking to them. They never yell, just whisper. She had learned that they completely stopped when papa or mama came down. She guessed they didn't like other people.

She had been terrified at first, like she was of the dark, but then, like the dark, grew to like them. Even though most of them are really mean to her. Like the one that was whispering now.

"I don't know."

'You should. You've been told your whole life.'

Tsuna petted a small mouse that was near her side. It turned and nipped her fingers. She was probably bleeding. "I know. Papa and mama let me know. They just want me to get better."

'Why would they want you to get better? They never wanted you in the first place.'

She scratched the back of her hand. It was raw and scabbed up from her bad habit of scratching at it. "I don't know."

'Maybe you should just kill yourself. Since they don't want you.'

She flicked off a bug crawling on her leg. "I always wanted papa and mama to want me. But I doubt they ever will. I wonder if when I'm older I can be let out? Then I might find someone to want me."

'They will never let you out. Besides, no one will want you. Your a disgusting, ugly, ungrateful, pig remember? Who would want that?'

Tsuna caught a bug on her arm. It had just bit her. This one was big fat one. She put it in her mouth. With a crunch, it died. "Maybe they will. You never know. I like baby pigs. They're cute."

'Baby pigs are cute. Not fat ugly ones who can eat everything and anything they see.'

She frowned. "But I've gotten better! I've only eaten five bu- six bugs for the last three weeks. I ran out of water about three days ago. Plus, the rats stole half of my bread the last time he came down. That's why I try to eat the bugs. All the big ones bite and its hard to not knock them away."

'That's disgusting. Pig. No normal people eat bugs.'

She pouted at the voice. "Oh shut up. I'm going to sleep." Se plopped down on her side, startling a few mice and bugs. She started humming really loud to make the voice shut up.

'Maybe if you stopped being worthless, papa would love you.'

'Maybe if you stopped being a waste of space, mama would want you.'

She hummed louder.

She didn't know when tomorrow was.


	2. Chapter 2

Tsuna is now 15

–

–

Tsuna woke to screaming and thundering foot steps upstairs. She sat up and wondered what was going on. She sat there trying to make out the new voices when suddenly the door slammed open. She held up her hand and winced when a flashlight got shined in her face.

She heard someone inhale sharply as she tried to peak at who was at the top of the stairs. She then winced as the lights suddenly flickered on. A man stood at the top of the stairs. He started down the stairs. He started talking into a small flip phone. "I need an ambulance down here now"

She pushed herself against the wall slightly afraid. What was going on? He walked close to her and crouched down. "Hello there, my names Tsuyoshi. Whats yours?" He smiled brightly at her. He reached out his hand as if to shake hers.

She frowned. No one's ever asked her name before. "Whats going on?" Tsuyoshi frowned when she didn't answer his question.

"I'll tell you what, I'll let you know what's going on if you come up those stairs with me." His hand was still outstretched. She looked confused.

"Your letting me out?" She looked unsure of the man. He looked so calm and gentle. She never seen that kind of look on mama's or papa's face before.

"Yeah, you can finally come out." She suddenly grinned and felt tears start falling. She tried to push herself up but fell. The man rushed forward and caught her. He scooped her up and started to carry her up the stairs.

She sobbed as she clutched his shirt. "I'm being let out. I'm being let out!" She cried. The man's face hardened. What has this child been through? He felt like he was carrying a small pillow. Her bones protruded from nearly everywhere. He hated to admit it, but she smelled as well. Like urine and feces. How could someone do this to a child?

He exited the basement door. He grimaced as he seen a few other cops look at him and gasp. Some of the women had tears in their eyes and hands covering their mouths. "Hey kid, you never told me your name?" She sniffed. "Tsunayoshi. I like Tsuna though." She gripped his shirt tighter. Mama and papa had rarely called her by name.

"That's a cool name. Now I'll explain things to you once I get you taken care of alright? You'll have to be taken to the hospital first okay?" She nodded. He motioned for someone to open the front door. She buried her face into his shirt at the noise outside. Nosy people who where crowding around the house had gasped and a few started crying. He had to agree, the sight wasn't that pretty.

He stopped in front of the ambulance and before he handed her over he whispered into her ear. "Hey, no need to cry. See that sky? Just look at it. Your free now. You can see this sky all you want now. I'll come talk to you in a bit okay? Be good for the people in there okay? They just want to help you."

She looked away from the setting sun and looked at his face. "Thank you." He felt tears prick his eyes as he handed her to the paramedics. They rushed her into the ambulance.

He put his hand to his face. How could his fellow cop do this to their own flesh and blood?

–

Tsuna was well taken care of after they found her. They kept her in a rehabilitation facility for abused children. She made friends with a few people. One was Mukuro, and the other was Nagi.

During her stay there, the adults helped teach her as much as they could. At first she had trouble, but when she got the hang of it, she caught up really quick. Some where really surprised. She was a very fast learner.

She had learned early on to not tell them the truth about what was wrong with her. At first when he told them the truth about little voices and how she couldn't sleep at night, they had doped her up on pills. She hated it. She was surprised at how she could deceive them.

Mukuro left two years before she got released. Nagi went with him, since they said he could take care of her. Nagi was just a month younger than Tsuna.

She would probably never see them again.

The facility helped her get a job around 17 and bought her a small apartment to move into at 18. When they released her, she was glad to go.

–

Tsuna's 18 now.

She had just been dropped off by a really nice lady. Though to her, she sees everyone as nice if they're not yelling. Tsuna walked up the stairs and walked to the very last door. This one was hers. There was a staircase right by her door leading down.

Tsuna shivered as she entered her new apartment. It was fully furnished. She only had a bag full of art stuff and her purse. Tsuyoshi told her he and his friend had bought her a complete new wardrobe and had filled up her closet and dressers.

She was excited to explore her new dwelling. She flicked on the lights to every room she entered. The living room had a decent sized flat screen TEVET. and two long couches. She walked into the kitchen and looked in awe at how many utensils where in there. She opened the fridge and grinned. It was filled to the brim along with all of the cabinets. She exited the kitchen and started down the hallway. There where four doors.

The first door was just a plain closet. It was full of cleaning stuff though. She continued down the hall. The next door was a guest bedroom. It was about medium sized. It was very plain, just a bed and dresser with a lamp on a little bedside table.

She started down the hallway again. She came up to the last two doors. Jeez, how big was this place? She peeked inside one and did a once-over on the inside of the bathroom. It seemed to be filled with simple things. Like towels, toilet paper, and a smell good thingie plugged into the wall..

She opened the last door. She stood for a second and looked around with excited eyes. This room was huge! The walls where a plain white. She looked down and giggled at the orange carpet. It looked super soft. She set the art bag and purse down by the door.

A giant bed pushed up against the wall, and she had to resist going and jumping on it. It was covered in a black and orange. There where two big bean-bags next to the bed. They where both black. She walked over to the bed and took off her gloves and tossed them on it.

A desk was pushed up against the wall. It had a black laptop with red designs on it, sitting on top of it. To top it off, a roller chair that looked super comfortable, sat in front of it. Yes! She would have to thank Tsuyoshi for listening to all of her request.

Black had become her favorite cover. It was hard not to be, when darkness meant good, and when the light turned on she knew bad things where coming. She had taken to orange as well, after all, the sky was setting when she had been saved.

She noticed a slide door next to a large television. Probably the closet. Next to it was a body sized mirror leaning in the wall. She grimaced at that. She did grin at a large bookshelf though. It had a crap-load of books on it.

There was another door though on the other side of the TV. She opened it curiously and jumped up and down. She had two bathrooms! This one was a lot bigger too. It had everything she needed in the cabinets and drawers.

The shelve next to the large mirror had a few bottles setting on it. Anti-depressants. Check. She smiled at the crap load of ibuprofen and Tylenol. She got headaches often, so she guessed he was just making sure she was okay.

She opened a bag lying near the sink and wrinkled her nose. It was full of make-up. She had a lady at the facility show her how to do all types of stuff with it. She was like a pro-make-up applier now. That didn't mean she wore it all the time though. Every now and again was nice though. She put it up below the sink.

Another bag had been lying next to it, so she picked it up. It was full of hair stuff, like hair ties, clippies, a crap load of bobby pins, and a few other things. She came out of the bathroom and sat on the bed. This was more than she could ever ask for. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her flip phone. Nothing fancy but it did what she needed.

She dialed Tsuyoshi's number. He had given her the phone secretly, since the kids in the facility 'didn't need one'. He completely disagreed and gave it to her after showing how to work it. He did say that if they found it, he wouldn't buy her another one. So she took good care of it.

She smiled as she answered his phone.

"Tsuna! Have you gotten to your apartment yet?"

"Yes! I'm happy but kind of mad at you! How did they afford all of this stuff?" She could see him rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Just like his son.

"Well you see….I helped with the money problem." She frowned. She figured but it was still made her feel weird.

"Your not supposed to do that you know."

"I know. Besides cant a retired cop spend some money?" She rolled her eyes. He had retired not long after they found her. His wife had passed, not even a month after. He went into a depression, and during his work as a policemen, he kept making mistakes, so they told him he wasn't fit for duty.

Tsuyoshi had gotten seemed to get ten times better once he could be around his son more. He even started his own small sushi place called, 'TakeSushi'. By small she means really small. But for some reason it gets business like crazy, so he has plenty of money. It helped that the second floor of it was where he and his son lived. Plus he never really buys anything except for her and his son.

"You spoil me."

"Well, let this old man feel important by spoiling his daughter figure." She felt tears spring up in her eyes. He really was like a father to her. She never had a real one, so when he treated her like he did, she honestly didn't know how to react.

"Bah, you just want me to get together with Takashi." She sniffed and leaned back on her bed and sighed. It was so soft.

She grinned when he guffawed. "I cant help it! I would love to officially have you as my daughter! You know I did try to adopt you. The system didn't want to let you go though. I admit, it pissed me off." Tsuna let out a snicker.

"Tsuyoshi! Don't you dare cuss like that!" He huffed across the line and she ran her fingers along the fluffy blanket.

"Well it did. By the way, on the apartment, you can't completely blame me for all the stuff. You know that really nice woman you met before. Her name was Nana. She came with me to buy all your stuff. She bought all the girly things and stuff. Oh, and she may have filled up your kitchen with nearly everything she could. She heard that you work as a cook and/or waiter. She also said there was a bunch of recipes in one of the cabinets too, in case you ever wanted to try anything new. She also told me to tell you 'good luck.'"

Tsuna grinned. The woman was so nice when she first met her. Tsuna felt kind of bad for her, since she was single and lived in her house alone. She had told her once that she had always wanted a child, but she never found anyone she wanted to be with.

Tsuna had found out later by Tsuyoshi, that she had shown interest in her father before he got married. Tsuna's eyes had widened and she grew sick. What would have happened if this nice young woman came in contact with him. She nearly cried tears on relief for Nana.

"I remember her. Please tell her I said thank you. I don't know the next time I'll be able to see her."

"Alright. Will do. Hey, I'm going to have to get off here, Takashi is looking a little worse for wear. I've made him take orders and make 'em, when I seen it was you who was calling."

"Tsuyoshi! You go help him right now! Tell him I said sorry. I'll come visit later okay?" She heard him shuffling around.

"Alright see ya later Hun. You be safe now you hear?" She rolled her eyes.

"Yes I hear you. Now Go!"

She laughed as right before he hung up she heard Tsuyoshi curse and gripe at his son. By the sounds he made, it sounded liked Takashi probably kicked him. She didn't blame him- That place was probably packed. She felt a bit bad though for holding him up.

She set her phone in her pocket and reluctantly pushed herself out of her bed. She stopped in her tracks as something caught her eye. A humongous body pillow that was bigger than she would ever be, lie on the bed. It was orange. How had she not seen that!? She grabbed the pillow up and hugged it. This place was perfect!

She put the pillow down and started to go to the kitchen. She wanted to try out her kitchen. She opened up the fridge and pulled out some milk. She got the cereal down and started her hunt for a spoon and bowl. She found the silver wear pretty fast, but of course her bowls where in the last cabinet she checked.

She sat on the couch and turned on the TV. She leaned back and flicked through the channels. She ended up just putting it on a music channel. Tsuna finished her cereal and laid her head back and closed her eyes. This all was so surreal.

She kinda felt uncomfortable. She was used to the loud noises and constant chatter n the facility. She never felt lonely there, always having the small comfort of knowing that someone was nearby. Now, she was completely alone.

She probably would rot inside this apartment if she didn't have to pay her own rent. Well for the first few months anyways. She still needs to keep her job, so it would help keep her out of here.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already that late? She didn't realize so much time has already passed. She had work tomorrow. Picking up her bowl she rinsed it and put it up. She had a tendency to be messy, but she wanted to keep this place clean as long as she could.

She entered her room and gave an appreciation glance around the room. She reached into her other pocket and pulled out an iPod and earphones. She put them in as she kicked off her shoes and socks and turned up the music.

She grabbed her art bag and dragged it over to the bed. She went to turn on the lamp beside the bed and grinned when she realized it had numerous settings. She set it on dim. Sitting down on the bed she pulled out a sketchbook and some pencils.

She flipped through her drawings. Most of what she drew where grotesque, others where either portraits or random things. She didn't really think they where scary, but when Nagi had stole her sketchbook, she had been freaked out. She honestly didn't know why she freaked out so much. When Mukuro seen them, he didn't really seemed freaked out, just a little uncomfortable.

The things she drew used to be things she would see at dark. Before she learned to lie to the people at the facility, she had let it slip that she had seen really scary things down in the basement. The therapist had been interested in how descriptive she was. She was then told that she just had an overactive imagination. Then they mentioned she might have had vivid hallucinations from being in the dark so long.

She never mentioned that she still seen things sometimes. Like how she seen a claw resting on the therapist shoulder. She sometimes drew those, like before she left the facility today, she had seen a really creepy dog. She drew it. She flipped to the picture of the dog.

The dog barely had and skin on it. An eyeball was literally hanging out of it's socket. The other eye had no eyelids and had stared unblinkingly at her. They seem to always stare. Its jaw was barely hanging by a few shreds of skin.

It had a bloody stump for the right from leg as well. The skin that was on it seemed to be rotting as well. The tail was just plain muscle. Blood dripped from the dog like a leaky faucet. That had been the 'scariest' one in a while. It was most likely nerves. The eyes where pretty unnerving though.

It didn't help that she was a really…..really good artist. So the drawing looked almost life-like on the paper.

She flipped to a new page and started sketch the room. After she finished, she set her sketchbook aside and glanced at the clock. It was only 12:00 at night. She didn't need to leave for work till 7.

Tsuna sighed. She ran out of sleeping pills about a week ago and couldn't fill her prescription for another week. She had been diagnosed with insomnia not long into her stay. She had napped a lot, but never really slept. They asked if she was having nightmares and she simply shrugged. They weren't nightmares, they where memories.

Without her pills, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep, only nap. She stood up and walked over to the bookshelf. She closed her eyes and randomly picked a book. She told herself she would have to read it. Even if it had a crappy plot or she's already read it.

She looked down and stared blankly at the cover. 'How to take care of your pet & whats the right pet for you'. It was about two inches thick. She opened it up and squinted at the small writing.

She huffed and dragged a bean-bag near the dim light and plopped down on it. She flipped it open and started reading while tapping her foot to the loud music in her ears.

–

It was 6 in the morning when she looked up and checked the time. She had only gotten to page 41 out of 480. The writing was really small. Plus her iPod had died, and she freaked out and plugged it in. She let it charge as she still listened to music on it.

She jumped up and took a quick scalding hot shower. She dried herself and stood in front of the mirror. Her front side was covered in scars. Turning so she could see her back, she winced It was practically nothing but scars. She frowned and leaned forward. She had a scar on her jaw. It ran up only a little ways but it still was noticeable.

Tsuna then fingered a small scar on her shoulder. It was an old cigarette burn. It was surrounded by about four more. There where more of those on her body, all scattered around. The scars where still on the back of her hands from her scratching. She turned and opened her anti-depressant bottle. She popped four and put it back up.

Wrapping herself in a towel, she moved to the wardrobe. She hadn't even opened it yet. She had had all of her clothing she wore before, threw away. She slowly opened the door and flicked on the light.

"…...whoa." She stared at the mass of cloths before her. She stepped forward and started shuffling through the cloths. She smiled gratefully at the number of long sleeved shirts.

She pulled out a plain long sleeve tee and a cool pair of skinny jeans. She didn't want to mess up her good cloths Even if there seemed to be plenty, she would save those for the days she waitresses. Today was a cooking day though.

She turned to the inside of the door and raised her eyebrows. It was a hanging shoe rack that was filled with all types of shoes. She shook her head. She bet they each had their own outfit.

She went over to her dresser still holding the cloths and started opening and closing the drawers. She needed her underwear… She huffed as she finally found that drawer. She picked up a pair and grinned. Red lace. Black lace. White lace. Apparently Nana liked lace. She found a few non-laced things and went for them.

She opened another drawer and marveled at all of the gloves. They where to good to her. She picked out a pair and pulled them on.

Dressing herself, Tsuna slipped on her old trusty running shoes. She walked to the bathroom and brushed her drying hair. It was still drying when she put it in a bun on the side of her head. She then grabbed a her purse that was still on the floor and started to head out the door. She closed and locked the front door.

"Well then. Let the day begin."


	3. Chapter 3

Tsuna's 21 now

–

It was a busy day today. She would have been making a bunch of tips if she where to waitress today. Unfortunately though she was stuck in the kitchen.

"Order up!" She turned as an order was out in front of her face. She snatched it from the girls hand. The girl pouted. "Tsuna desu! Don't be so mean!" She rubbed her forehead.

"Haru, quite bugging me and go waitress. We're slammed." Haru groaned. "But there's so many people desu..."

Tsuna rolled her eyes and shooed her off. She turned and started making what seemed like the 50th burger of the day. Only her and Haru where working today. The others had the day off. Kyoko was going to work today, but had to leave early for some appointment.

She almost rescheduled, but Haru and Tsuna had pushed her out of the door. They struggled a bit with the crowd, but they got the hang of it real quick. They had been running circles around each other. It helped that the place wasn't to big and people mostly got to-go's.

Near closing time when the crowd died down, Tsuna let Haru deal with the stragglers coming in. She grabbed her purse and took out a cigarette as she stepped out back. Lighting up, she inhaled the deadly chemicals and leaned against the wall. The ally was always good to her. No-one ever drove or came down this ally except for some strays. She blew the smoke out her nose.

She picked up the bad habit not long after she went to the facility. Along with drinking. A few kids somehow got their hands on that stuff and they had been more than willing to share. Tsuna being very curious, got hooked. Surprisingly Mukuro and Nagi never found out.

'They wouldn't care in the first place.'

She leaned her head back, flicked her ashes, and raised a brow. It hadn't been talking much recently. Maybe cause she's been so busy.

Today had been tiring. She brushed a few strands of hair away from her face and took another puff. She amused herself by making circles with the smoke. She adjusted her black finger-less gloves.

She pushed herself off the wall and put out her cigarette, putting it in her pocket. She went to open the door when it opened quickly. She moved back quickly as Haru came outside.

"Hey Tsuna desu! Kyoko's creep is here again. We need you as the waitress." Tsuna snickered and started to go inside. "I though we scared him off last time." Haru laughed.

"Yeah, well he used to stalk Kyoko, now he comes whether she's here or not. Your food is hard to resist." They both laughed at that. Mochida was supposedly an ex of Kyoko's. She had dumped him when she realizes he had cheating on her. Hana, Kyoko's best friend, would have fended him off, but she had her own job at a different place.

Once Tsuna got the job three in a half years ago, he had shown up quite a lot. The last time he showed up, he had gotten into it with Haru. She had threatened to call the cops on him if he didn't leave. It was getting pretty heated. He eventually left huffing. He had complained that he just came for the food. They had agreed that only Tsuna could waitress for him since he seemed to be an annoyance to everyone else. That happened two years ago.

She followed Haru. As she came into the main area, she scanned the room. A group of people sat in the corner and Mochida sat near the door.

Tsuna brushed her hands off on her apron and grabbed an order form and pen. She walked towards him. He lifted his head from the menu and looked up. "What ya want Mochida?" Mochida looked towards the group in the corner. They weren't paying attention. "Medium Sunday"

She never understood why he looked so uncomfortable when he ordered. He wasn't the only guy who came in here ordering Ice-cream alone. He almost always only came in when there where barely anyone in.

She nodded and walked away. She went into the kitchen and started building a medium sized ice cream Sunday. Two bananas coated in hot fudge. Two scoops of ice cream on top. One vanilla, one chocolate. She then poured more hot fudge over it.

She grabbed the whip cream and smothered the two scoops. Putting a drizzle of caramel, she added two cherries on the very top. She stepped back and admired her work. It looked pretty good.

She took the little boat of ice-cram cream on grabbed two spoons and stuck them in her pocket. She came out and Mochida lifted his head from his phone and glanced around nervously. He would be a horrible drug dealer.

She set the boat down and slid into the seat in front of him. She sometimes sat with him if she wasn't busy. She took out the spoons and handed him one. Taking her spoon she took a bit from the side of the Sunday. She smiled. Damn she was good.

Mochida scowled at her. "Don't eat my food." He took his own bite and relaxed back into his chair. It was a lot less embarrassing when she sat down with him. Tsuna put her head on her hand, covering the old scar.

Mochida shrugged and took another bite. "You know, that group looked pretty annoyed at Haru. How has she not gotten fired yet? All she does it talk." Tsuna rolled her eyes. Well, no it wasn't a good trait for a waitress to have. To just keep talking and talking and talking….

"Quit complaining. Your lucky your not them." He huffed again. He didn't know why he put up with this. Wait, yes he did. Their food was just that good.

"No. Plus I pretty much only come here for the food. Stalking Kyoko had it's ups I suppose..." Tsuna laughed.

"You flatter me." He took a bite. "Your not the only cook. It's either you or Kyoko. There's probably a few more back there that I don't ever see." Tsuna raised an eyebrow.

"It's just the two of us back there. We switch out every other day." He looked surprised. "Well then." She stabbed her spoon into the left-over ice-cream.

She looked behind her and got up. "I have to go check on this table. I'm not sure if they're done or need to order." She mumbled under her breath. "I'm going to hound her if she didn't take their order."

She picked up he order form and pen with her gloved hands and put them in her pocket. She may not need them. She walked towards the table and smiled. "Hey there! Is there anything you need?" Okay they had drinks so that was a good sign.

They seemed to be in a deep conversation when she walked up. They all glanced at her. The blue eyed blond dressed in cameo grinned at her. "Hey there kora! We're just waiting on the food." She blinked. She had been sitting over there a while. Why hadn't they gotten their food yet?

"If I may ask, how long have you been waiting?" She was worried. This was bad customer service. Nearly all of them but four scowled at her. A raven, the blonde, someone dressed in robes, and some guy who had a hood over his face. The green haired dude snapped at her. "We've been waiting forever." The blonde looked over sharply. "Hey Verde, Kora! Don't be mean." He looked at her apologetically as Verde scowled.

"I'm sorry, I'll go check on your food no-" She got cut off by a yelp coming from the kitchen. Her eyes widened and all of their heads snapped toward the noise. She smiled. "I'm sorry, I'll be back in a moment." She took off towards the kitchen.

The group watched as she moved away. "Collonelo. Quit flirting with the waitress." The blond got smacked in the head. He pouted. "She was cute…" Lal rolled her eyes.

The one in the hood looked annoyed. "We should leave while we have the chance. I don't know what's going on in there but I doubt they have food worth the money."

The raven scowled. "Shut up viper. I'm not leaving till I have my food." Collonelo nodded his head in agreement. "Reborn may want the food, but I'm just eager to see the cute girl again." He winced as Lal smacked him again.

A guy with purple hair look towards the kitchen in a worried manner. "I hope they're okay." They glanced at Skull. Fon looked at them all in exasperation. So noisy. Though he to glanced over to the kitchen They where all a bit curious as to what happened.

–

Tsuna stood in the kitchen and stared with wide eyes. "Haru! What did you do!?" A bunch of food was scattered on the floor. Haru was sitting on her butt with wide eyes. "I'm so sorry desu! I messed up their order and had to redo it! Then there was a puddle in the floor and I was carrying so much and-"

Tsuna put up her hand. Haru looked ready to cry. Tsuna rubbed her temples. Ugh. "I'll pay for their meal Haru. Just clean up in here and I'll go let them know. I'll cook the food so don't worry about that." She helped Haru up and left her to clean the mess up.

She approached the group. This was bad service. "I'm so sorry but we had a small problem in the kitchen. If your willing to wait again, I'll have your food soon. It'll all be on the house." Reborn tipped his hat. "I'll wait, but I don't know about them." He shrugged and leaned back while watching her. The rest of the group nodded. Viper seemed to have a satisfied aura around him. She nodded and walked away.

Reborn looked over to Viper. "Good things come to those who wait." he smirked a the annoyed expression. He tilted back his chair and covered his face with his fedora. He didn't know how much longer he would have to wait.

–

The food came surprisingly fast. She came out with a cart of food. They had ordered a lot more than she thought. She listed off the food and put them in front of the person who ordered it. Reborn fell forward on his chair and adjusted his fedora. Pulling at his curly side-burn, he took in the sight of food.

He paused when he realized there was more food on the cart then they ordered. "We didn't order this much you know." He pointed towards all the dessert in the cart. She smiled sheepishly and adjusted her finger-less gloves.

"I know. I felt bad for making y'all wait so long, so I made a bunch of desserts." She then paused. "These are my own recipes, so please enjoy."

She walked away when she heard a few 'thank you's'. She looked over to where Mochida was sitting. He was still there, messing with his phone. She shook her head and walked over to him. He glanced up as she practically fell into the seat she was in earlier.

"So. What was that all about?" He looked curious. She groaned and put her head down on the table. "I just gave away half of my paycheck." He raised both eyebrows and leaned forward. "Please pray and tell why you would do such a thing? You complain about rent all the time."

Tsuna looked up and pouted. "I know….. I have a guilty conscious though." She reluctantly pushed herself back up. He looked unimpressed.

"I need to start closing up. You coming tomorrow?" She grabbed his empty bowl. "No. My boss has been keeping me more and more. I was surprised she gave me today off. I may not be here for awhile because of that." He frowned and stood up. Tsuna nodded in understanding.

"Yeah. Just know that your always welcome….as long as you got money and don't be an asshole." He scowled and reached into his pocket for money.

"Well they didn't seem very friendly. They got free food too." She laughed as he handed her the money. She reached into her pocket and pulled out his change. He waved his hand at that.

"Well a few of them where polite, so that made up for the whole group." She grinned. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll see ya later." He walked away. "See ya." She glanced over to the group. They where only halfway through. She sighed.

She took the bowl and spoons into the kitchen. Haru looked at her and sniffed. She still felt horrible about the food."Tsuna, I'm going to pay for the food alright?" Tsuna looked up and frowned. "No."

Haru grimaced. "Look here desu. Since I know you'll pay it off without me knowing, split the pay desu?" She looked so guilty. Tsuna pondered for a second. "you pay a quarter." Haru looked down and sniffed again. "Okay..."

Tsuna nodded and patted her on the shoulder. "Buck up, it's okay! I'm sure if our roles where switched, you would do the same." Haru nodded and wiped her eyes,

'No she wouldn't. Your helping someone who would stab you in the back at any possible moment. Maybe literally as well.'

It started in the corner of the room and at the last sentence it was right in her ear. She inwardly winced at that. It was most likely right. Oh well. There was nothing she could really do about it.

'You could get rid of her. Kill her. Skin her alive. Eat her flesh in front of her.'

Tsuna grinned as she did the dishes. The voice was talkative today. Finishing them up she went to wipe down the tables. While doing this, she asked Haru to pick up any dirty plates on the groups table. Haru nodded and did what was asked.

Tsuna hummed under her breath as she finished up cleaning. She flipped the sign on the door to 'CLOSED'. She went to the back and looked over to see Haru talking excitedly. Only a few faces looked interested in what she was saying. She wondered what they where talking about. Rarely anyone finds what she says interesting.

She bent down below the counter out of sight and started counting the tips she made today. She grinned. She made quite a lot. She then pouted. She would have to sacrifice almost all her tips to pay for all the food she made. Tsuna let out a long suffering sigh and turned to the register.

She calculated all that they ordered plus the extra stuff she made. She put the exact amount in the register and shut it. She refused to let Haru pay for it. Haru had made less tips today too. Even though they constantly switch out roles from cook to waitress, Tsuna had made more.

Tsuna then leaned on the counter and opened her phone while waiting on Haru. She played a random game and put it up as Haru came back with the cart full of empty plates.

She glanced over and seen them getting ready to leave. Wow. They had eaten all of that food. Wait. She seen a few pointed glares directed at the raven. He was holding a small plate that had a few desserts on it. He must have taken the last few pieces. She laughed under her breath.

"I'll go ahead and clean the rest, go ahead and leave. Oh, I payed your part alright? Now shoo." Tsuna waved off Haru who looked confused. Haru then smiled brightly and gave her a quick hug before leaving. Tsuna smiled and waved her goodbye. She then glanced back at the colorful group.

The raven stayed by the table as he finished off the desserts. The rest moved towards the exit and they nodded to her in thanks. The blonde trotted over to her and grinned. "Hey thanks kora! I'll most likely be back. By the way your food is delicious!" He waved at her and went out the door. She looked over at the raven haired man. "So, was it good?" He walked over towards her with an empty plate.

"Very good, thank you." He tipped his fedora. She smiled brightly at the compliment. "Might you be coming back?" She hoped so. She loved getting people to become regulars. His lips tilted upward into an 'almost-smirk'. "We'll see." He waved goodbye and left.

She shook her head at the suave man. That group was weird. For some reason they reminded her of a rainbow…


	4. Chapter 4

Tsuna entered her apartment. It was late and she just made it home. She was pretty tired and wanted to sleep. Tsuna stretched as sh plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. Digging into her purse, she pulled out a pill bottle. She emptied out some unto her hand. She popped them and put the bottle back up.

She sighed and lit up a cigarette and took a couple puffs. Today was tiring. Tsuna was a little sad that she had to give away most of her check, but it had been kind of her fault. She should have checked the table earlier.

–

Tsuna sat on her couch and hugged her knees. She rested her cheek on them. All the lights where off, and only the TV was on. She was staring in the corner of the room.

'You know they didn't mean anything they said right?'

'They weren't forced to leave you, they decided you where so stupid that they couldn't wait to be rid of you'

'They don't love you. No one loves you.'

Her grip around her knees tighten. A man was in the corner of the room talking to her. His lower body wasn't there. He was leaned up against the wall. She could see his insides if she where to duck her head a little lower. He had a knife in his hand as he chopped his own body parts off. She would probably draw it later.

'Would love a disgusting pig like you?'

Chop. Chop. Chop.

'They pitied you. A sad disgraceful little girl. Left alone in a basement for five years.'

Chop. Chop.

He had cut off all the fingers on one hand. She blinked as the man looked her in the eye while waving a cut off finger at her.

'You should have turned into a bug from how many you ate.'

He stuck the finger into his mouth and pulled a lighter out of his shirt pocket. He lit the tip of the finger. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of burning flesh. He put it in his mouth and inhaled. It sat limp in his mouth, not doing anything. He frowned and took it out and tossed it aside.

'Someone should just get rid of you. Your father was so close too.'

He lifted his hand and started digging into his eye. With a sick squelch he popped it out. He used the knife to cut it away. He held up the eye and threw it at her. It landed in front of her on the floor.

'Like those people you killed. Remember how you dug out their eyes? They screamed and pleaded for mercy. You cried as you cut out there tongue.'

She reached down and picked up the eyeball. She rolled it around in her hand. "Shut up."

The man seemed to laugh. He popped out his other eye and smiled.

'You know the worst part?'

She tossed the eye back and forth. A bit of blood and slime covered her hand. "What?"

'You liked it. No- you loved it.'

The man used the stumpy hand and helped guide the knife as he traced it around his face.

"I did." The man kept tracing.

'That- that's the reason that no one will ever accept you. Never care about you. Never want you. Never love you.'

She crushed the eyeball in her hand. It was like crushing a peeled boiled egg in her hand.

"Why do I even acknowledge your presence?"

'Because you need a reminder. A reminder of what you really are.' He put the knife down and wiped his finger-less hand on his shirt. He lifted his other hand and start to peel his face off.

'Your all scarred up.'

'Your not nice.'

'Your not happy no matter how much you smile.'

'You don't really trust anyone you meet.'

'Your not truly happy that they took you from the basement.'

'Maybe papa would have learned to love you. Mama may have realized that she loved you. But they took you away.'

Tsuna raised a brow as he threw his face on the floor. His meaty face seemed to look in her direction.

"I agree and disagree. I agree with everything but the last bit. Yes, I used to think that. I grew out of it though. I learned that they would never care. I still love mama and papa, but that doesn't mean they have to love me."

The man's jaw moved as if it was laughing. 'What ever you say.'

She blinked as he disappeared. The corner was free of blood and gore. She looked down at her hands. They where free of slime and blood.

Tsuna sniffed and went to her room to get her drawing pad. She drew what he looked like before he started cutting away. She then took up multiple pages drawing the stages of what he looked like up to the point of his face being cut away.

She put down her sketch book and sighed. She was running out of paper. Time for another one. She went to her room and opened a bottle dresser drawer. It was full of multiple sketchbooks. They where all full of drawings. She stuffed this sketchbook into it.

She went to her closet and pulled out an easel and a large canvas. She had finally bought more paint the other day.

Tsuna had bought the stuff to paint a few months after moving in. She realized she was just as good as painting as she was at drawing. Everything looked realistic.

She stayed up well into the morning painting. She painted the final stage the man was in. Faceless, fingerless, eyeless, and lower body-less. Face tossed to the side. She painted herself on the couch with the eye ball in her hand. She was staring at the man emotionless.

Tsuna backed up and grinned at her work. Just as real as before. She would have to leave it be to dry. She set aside her paint and glanced at her watch.

She had to be at work in thirty minutes! Tsuna felt horrified. She didn't have time for a shower or anything else. It took her twenty-five minutes to make it to work. Of course she had to walk. She ran to her closet and changed her cloths real fast. She went into the bathroom and pulled her hair up into a quick bun. She looked helplessly at the paint on her skin. She would have to fix it at work. She slipped on her gloves.

Running into her living room she grabbed her purse and ran outside. She cursed when she realized she forgot shoes. She ran back inside and put them on. Running back outside she nearly tripped. It was raining. Fuck it. She put her purse over her head and ran.

What a great start to a beautiful day.

–

Tsuna ran into the front door panting. She was soaked down to the bone. The place had just opened, so it was pretty much all old men drinking their coffee.

A few old men eyed her up and down. Haru came out of the back. "Hello! Where would you like to si- Tsuna! Are you okay." She grabbed Tsuna and pulled her into the back. Tsuna sputtered.

Once in the back Haru brought her to the staff locker room "Here let me see your clothes." Tsuna stood there awkwardly. She wasn't stripping in front of Haru.

Haru looked confused. "Are you shy desu?" Tsuna looked at her suspiciously.

"What am I going to change into?" Haru rolled her eyes. "We have a change of cloths for all the staff members in case something happens. I usually get ready here since I get up early. I have a some make up and hair stuff in here. She opened her locker and pulled it all out.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. She's only came in here a few times before. She wasn't aware anyone actually used the lockers.

Haru left and came back with some cloths. "Here, change into these." Tsuna smiled gratefully. Haru smiled and left the room. Tsuna quickly changed. Setting her wet cloths to the side she grabbed Haru's hair dryer and plugged it in. She dried and hair and styled it into a clippie. Searching through the make-up back she pulled out some eye-liner. She quickly found a mirror and applied it.

Tsuna checked herself and scowled. She had paint on her face still. She tried to scrub it off with her wet shirt. After a while of scrubbing she was pretty sure she got it all off. She put all of Haru's stuff back into her locker. She nearly ran into Kyoko coming out.

"Oh! Hey Tsuna. What are you doing? Your supposed to be on the floor!" She grabbed Tsuna's arm and put a notepad and pen in her hand. Tsuna smiled at her and walked over to her side. The only people at her side where an old couple. She approached them smiling.

"Hello there, what would you like to drink?"

–

Tsuna sat in her ally. It was near closing time once again. She was worn out. She had been running around since she got here. She took a puff of her cigarette. At least she had a bunch of tips today.

She paused as something moved in the corner of her eye. She glanced over. A small orange kitten was by the dumpster. It was digging through a pile of random trash by the dumpster. She wondered where it's mother was. As she was bending drown to sub out her cigarette it whirled around and hissed at her. She tilted her hand. It had a scar on it's chin like she did. She held out her hand. "Here kitty kitty." It stared at her a second before darting away. She blinked. Aw…

Tsuna stubbed out the cigarette and went back inside.

Kyoko came up to her and pouted. "Tsuna~ You got so many tables today!" Tsuna laughed. Kyoko shook her head. "Well, we still made about the same in tips."

Tsuna winked at her. "You know that just because we get a bunch of tables doesn't mean we get a bunch of tips. It helps, but still."

Kyoko snickered at her. "You know, you would have made a lot more if those old men wouldn't sit there forever drinking coffee." Tsuna giggled.

Tsuna scratched her neck. She glanced around. "Where's Haru?"

Kyoko motioned towards the tables. "She's taking care of stragglers."

Tsuna nodded and yawned. She caught sight of Haru and grinned. "Hey Haru, need some help cleaning up the tables?"

"Help would be welcome desu! I just got rid of the last customer and their kid made a mess all over the floor desu." Tsuna laughed and grabbed the broom from her.

"Here, I'll clean all the tables. Kyoko might need a hand in the kitchen though." Haru looked relieved and scampered to the kitchen. Tsuna called to her. "Hey, thanks for the help this morning!"Haru grinned at her and waved her off.

Tsuna turned to the mess on the floor. Now where to begin…


End file.
